Slovenia-based Kolektor to build wastewater treatment plant in Ruma

The Municipality of Ruma and a consortium led by Slovenia-based Kolektor have signed an agreement on the design and construction of a wastewater treatment plant for the Rumen industrial zone, in an investment worth EUR 900,000.

The Slovenian consortium offered the best conditions for the construction of the plant in the recently concluded tendering procedure, the municipality said in a statement.

The agreement on the design and construction of the plant was signed in the City Hall by Dušan Ljubišić, head of the municipal administration, and Jernej Hrovat, a director at Kolektor.

Ruma Mayor Slađan Mančić said that he expects the works to be completed by the end of 2018.

The wastewater treatment plant, to be built on a 4,000-square meter piece of land, is primarily intended for French auto components maker Hutchinson, but can also be used by other investors in the Rumen industrial zone.

“We pledged to build the plant when we negotiated the French investment in Ruma. It is all about one coordinated state response: the Serbian Government backed us with RSD 100 million (EUR 850,000) through the Ministry of Economy, while the Property Directorate of the Republic of Serbia gave us land for this project. All of our efforts have been justified, since Hutchinson is moving with the construction of the fifth and sixth production facilities, employing about 700 people and paying good salaries. The companies in the industrial zone, like Albon, Calzedonia, Insert, as well as new ones yet to build their factories, can use this wastewater treatment plant,” Mančić said.

He added that the Slovenian consortium will hire domestic companies.

Hrovat said that the industrial zone and investors there will get a modern wastewater treatment plant whose capacity could be increased should this be needed to match the zone’s development.

“Environmental protection will be at the highest possible level and I expect that all the work on this project will be successfully completed by the end of the year,” Hrovat said.

Relief to city budget

For his part, Mančić noted that the construction of the plant will bring great relief to the city budget because the local government is financing the disposal of Hutchinson’s wastewater. He said that the management of the facility would most likely be entrusted to public water utility Vodovod.

In addition to subsidies allocated to Hutchinson, the Serbian Government pledged under the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the French investor in 2015 to finance the construction of a wastewater treatment plant.